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The collaboration of choir and congregation in the performance of the music of Michael Praetorius

THE COLLABORATION OF CHOIR AND CONGREGATION
IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL PRAETORIUS
by
Leonora Kathleen Wagner
________________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(HISTORICAL MUSICOLOGY)
December 2012
Copyright 2012 Leonora Kathleen Wagner

Although congregational singing has been an important element of Lutheran worship since the early years of the Reformation, as visitation reports show, the success of its implementation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries varied from place to place and from congregation to congregation. Because of this, encouraging lay members to sing at appropriate times during worship services and providing music for such singing were relevant concerns for Lutherans during these years. Appropriately, then, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the influential music director and composer Michael Praetorius addressed these concerns by providing philosophical support, performance suggestions, and music for lay participation. This dissertation investigates these contributions to the advancement of congregational singing in collaboration with trained musicians in Lutheran worship services. ❧ Through examination of Praetorius’ treatises and prefaces to publications, I explore his philosophy of worship, especially as it pertains to the respective roles of skilled musicians and the laity in the presentation of church music. Praetorius’ collection of more than 750 cantional settings forms the backbone of his group of compositions intended especially for congregational singing, and includes harmonizations of versions of chorale tunes from various regions. I assess Praetorius’ accuracy in reproducing local melodic variants, demonstrating his volumes to be reliable sources of singing practices from different geographical areas. In order to clarify Praetorius’ compositional tendencies, I analyze his settings with respect to the properties of individual voices, texture, harmony, incorporation of variety, motivic manipulation and text painting, and compare them to settings by some of his contemporaries. As this analysis testifies, the number, characteristics and quality of Praetorius’ cantional settings reflect his stated beliefs about the importance of congregational singing. ❧ Additionally, I consider the multiple options for incorporating congregational singing in a service that Praetorius presents in his volumes. Exhibiting a wide range of complexity, these options include performing cantional settings with four vocal parts only, performing them with instruments and multiple choirs, and combining verses in a simple style with ones from concerted polychoral motets or contrapuntal Latin Magnificats. Not only are Praetorius’ methods practical, in terms of allowing and enticing lay people to participate, but according to a Lutheran perspective, performances using these methods foreshadow worship in heaven and promote, and illustrate, the proper functioning of the church body.

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THE COLLABORATION OF CHOIR AND CONGREGATION
IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL PRAETORIUS
by
Leonora Kathleen Wagner
________________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(HISTORICAL MUSICOLOGY)
December 2012
Copyright 2012 Leonora Kathleen Wagner